New funding opportunities strengthen cultural heritage and community traditions

A national call to support living culture

The Ministry of Culture and Youth of Costa Rica (MCJ) has launched a new competitive funding call aimed at strengthening the country’s cultural heritage and supporting community initiatives linked to living traditions. This initiative seeks to finance projects that contribute to the preservation, revitalization, and transmission of cultural expressions across different regions of the country.

The program is part of a broader strategy designed to promote the participation of communities, cultural groups, and local organizations in the management and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

Objectives of the competitive funding program

The main goal of the program is to support projects that strengthen cultural identity and encourage the continuity of traditional practices that form part of Costa Rica’s social fabric.

Key objectives include:

Protecting tangible and intangible cultural heritage
Strengthening community traditions and local cultural expressions
Supporting cultural initiatives developed at the territorial level
Promoting citizen participation in cultural management
Creating spaces for intergenerational knowledge transmission

This type of funding allows local communities to develop projects that often would not have access to traditional financing sources.

Importance of intangible cultural heritage

Intangible cultural heritage includes practices, knowledge, expressions, rituals, festivities, craftsmanship, and oral traditions transmitted from generation to generation.

Its preservation is essential for maintaining cultural diversity and reinforcing community identity. Unlike material heritage, this form of heritage depends directly on the people who keep it alive.

The loss of these practices can mean the disappearance of ancestral knowledge and ways of life tied to specific territories.

A community-centered approach

One of the most relevant aspects of this call is its territorial focus, which recognizes communities as the main guardians of their cultural heritage.

In this sense, projects are not limited to formal cultural institutions but also include community associations, artistic collectives, local organizations, and traditional groups working directly in the preservation of cultural identity.

This approach helps decentralize cultural management and strengthens local participation in decision-making processes.

Expected impact on the cultural sector

The implementation of competitive cultural heritage funds can generate significant impacts at multiple levels.

Expected outcomes include:

Greater visibility of local traditions
Strengthening of the cultural economy in rural and urban communities
Preservation of traditional knowledge at risk of disappearance
Promotion of sustainable cultural tourism
Encouragement of networks among cultural actors

These funds also help professionalize cultural projects and ensure their long-term sustainability.

Cultural heritage and sustainable development

Cultural heritage is not only symbolic but also plays an important role in the sustainable development of territories.

Local traditions, crafts, festivals, and cultural practices can become drivers of economic development, especially in rural areas where employment opportunities may be limited.

In addition, culture plays a key role in social cohesion and in the construction of collective identities.

A further step in national cultural policy

This call is part of Costa Rica’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the cultural sector through public policies that promote inclusion, diversity, and community participation.

Support for cultural projects at the institutional level reflects a vision that recognizes culture as an essential component of human and social development.

Official sources consulted

Ministry of Culture and Youth of Costa Rica (MCJ)
Costa Rica Cultural Information System
Center for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (CICPC)
UNESCO – Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – Culture and sustainable development
National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) – territorial and community heritage references